Crypto Commerce Surge

Although currently the least frequently accepted form of payment, cryptocurrencies are set to be accepted by 78 percent of vendors by 2024, according to new research.

The survey by Salesforce found that the most popular option at present is credit card, with three in four commerce companies accepting these types of payments. The majority of those who don’t currently accept credit cards aim to do so within the next two years, with the exception of around five percent.

Meanwhile, bank transfer and Paypal are accepted as payment methods by more than two-thirds of vendors and are expected to exceed 90 percent within the next two years.

Luxury Bang for Buck

If you thought investing was dull, think again. Some of these high price tag purchases have turned out to be a way to turn a profit without a market index in sight. On average, these luxury investment types showed the biggest increases over the 10 years up to 2022.

Emotions Running High

Investors are losing money each year because their emotions are taking over in the decision-making process, according to behavioral finance experts Oxford Risk.

The study, which focused on Australian wealth managers who collectively manage assets of around US$155 billion, revealed that more than half (57 percent) believe that emotional decision making causes the average investor to lose one percent or more from their investable wealth each year.

One in eight of those surveyed believed those loses were in the region of two percent or more.

Meanwhile, almost three-quarters (72 percent) highlighted emotional decision-making as a ‘major cost’ for investors, with 76 percent admitting their clients frequently make investment decisions fueled by emotion.

“Wealth managers are generally agreed that helping clients manage their emotions is a major part of their role – 82 percent agree it is a key part of their job,” the firm said.

Trading Tips Heat Up

Rising interest in the world of trading has seen searches for “how to get into trading” shoot up by 178 percent worldwide over the last five years, according to financial services provider CMC Markets.

Searches for “trading tips” saw a 195 percent increase over the same period, while searches for “stock trading tips” increased by 204 percent worldwide.

This growing interest has coincided with soaring popularity for trading podcasts, with CMC analyzing Google search data to find the most popular ones.

Check out this top five list and get listening.